Sunday, March 18, 2012

This list features the episodes that stand out to me personally for reasons I point out in my commentary but in essence, every episode of Mad Men during this time will always be a collective masterpiece in television drama writing and history. The writers of Mad Men have crafted characters and stories that do not downplay politically incorrect perspectives, racism, taboos and the unflinching realism of the era. The series is not an idyllic view of the 1960's as some have come to label it and neither is it a complete commentary of the time. It is what some individuals have experienced for both the good and the bad. Mad Men is as real as it gets.

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#1: Episode 1, Season 1: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"

Commentary: This was, of course, the first episode I watched due to the load of ads and buzz about the show. The second season was about to start and it happened to be On Demand. Before the new season started, I decided to take a chance to watch the previous one. I didn’t really having any expectations though I was intrigued with the setting and look of the show. And I wasn’t sure where it was going plot wise; it just seemed like a typical "throw-back-to-an-era kind of series"…That is until the episode ended. It was pure genius! I didn't expect such a surprising finish as I watched Don Draper take a ride home. After all that I saw throughout the episode, I knew this show was a step above the rest.

PLOT: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is the first episode of the first season of the American period drama television series Mad Men. It first aired on July 19, 2007 in the United States on AMC. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" was written by creator Matthew Weiner and directed by Alan Taylor. The episode takes places in March 1960 in New York City, where renowned advertising executive Don Draper (Jon Hamm) struggles to maintain his stock with the cigarette company Lucky Strike. In his personal life, Don is having an affair with Midge (Rosemarie DeWitt), and the viewer doesn't learn about his wife Betty Draper (January Jones) until the end of the episode when he goes to his home in Ossining, New York. Meanwhile, Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) faces hostility amongst her peers after being hired as Don's secretary. Junior accountant Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) grows fond of Olson, ultimately pursuing a relationship with her.

Commentary: This episode showed the complicated relationship between Don/Dick (as a child) and his family growing up in the Depression Era. It explained, in some ways, how Don/Dick wanted to be so much unlike his father and the varied reasons why he became someone else entirely.

PLOT: As Peggy's ad copy proves to be successful, her relationship with Pete becomes more complicated. Don spends the evening with Midge and her Bohemian friends. An encounter Don had as a boy with a hobo is told in flashbacks. Sal finds himself the object of interest of a female co-worker and a male client.

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#3: Episode 10, Season 1: “Long Weekend”

Commentary: This would have to be one of Roger Sterling’s definitive episodes. It was a turning point for the character whose near death experience became the catalyst of major decisions (and episodes) yet to come.

PLOT: Betty is unhappy about spending the Labor Day weekend with her father's new girlfriend. After Sterling Cooper loses the Dr. Scholl's account, Roger attempts to cheer Don up by arranging for a pair of twins to spend the night with them. This results in Roger having a heart attack. Joan goes out for a night out on the town with her roommate, who reveals her secret love for Joan.

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#4: Episode 12, Season 1: Nixon vs. Kennedy

Commentary: This episode revealed a great deal about Don/Dick and the events that lead him taking on the identity of Don Draper. The confrontation between Pete and Don was building up to this point. It was a test of their characters to either stand their ground completely or be defeated internally.

PLOT: Sterling Cooper's employees have an all-night office party to watch the 1960 Nixon–Kennedy presidential election results. Pete discovers that Don's real name is Dick Whitman, who officially died in the Korean War. When Don tells Pete that Duck Phillips will become the new head of accounts, Pete tries to use this knowledge to pressure Don into giving him the job. Flashbacks reveal how "Dick Whitman" became "Donald Draper".

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#5: Episode 15, Season 2: Flight 1

Commentary: This episode presented the characters with a real tragedy (The crash of American Airlines Flight 1) and how they handle it. Pete’s father was killed in the crash and his reaction is a complicated mess of emotions. This episode also begins the plot outline for an interracial relationship and the civil rights movement.

PLOT: The crash of American Airlines Flight 1 affects several Sterling Cooper employees, most notably Pete, whose father is killed on the flight, and Duck and Don, who try to manage both existing and potential accounts with airline companies. Paul and Joan clash over his relationship with a black woman.

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#6: Episode 22, Season 2: Six Month Leave

Commentary: This episode had it all: A tragedy/event in history (The Death of Marilyn Monroe), Conflict in the workplace (Roger leaves his wife for another woman), A firing (Freddy can’t hold his liquor…literally) and a one-sided fight (Don punches a big mouth). It’s a drama, tragedy and comedy all rolled into one!

Plot: Freddy Rumsen's alcoholism results in an embarrassing situation during a pitch meeting with his team, and he is let go from the agency. Roger leaves his wife Mona and takes up with Jane. The death of Marilyn Monroe saddens many of the women in the office.

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#7: Episode 24, Season 2: The Jet Set

Commentary: OK. This episode is just weird and yet, brilliant. I swear every time I watched this it seems like I’m watching a episode of Twilight Zone. Its soooo surreal.

PLOT: Don's business trip to Los Angeles takes an unexpected detour when he falls in with a group of wealthy nomads; Peggy attempts to go on a date to a Bob Dylan concert with Kurt before finding out he's a homosexual; and Duck holds a secret meeting to help sell Sterling Cooper to British firm Putnam, Powell & Lowe.

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#8: Episode 29, Season 3: “My Old Kentucky Home”

Commentary: This is the beginning of the end….well, for the end of some things. Roger shows that his irrational decision to marry has made him into being a fool…a fool who sings “My Old Kentucky Home” in black face (WTF?)…..Don and Betty meet two people that would impact their future greatly. And Sally begins her accent to importance as a character.

PLOT: A mandatory overtime session leaves Paul, Smitty, and Peggy trying to stave off late-night boredom with cannabis. Roger's Kentucky Derby party leads to Don striking up a friendship with a folksy guest from another event, while Betty meets political advisor Henry Francis. Meanwhile, Joan and Greg host a dinner party of their own. Sally and Grandpa have a run-in.

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#9: Episode: 32, Season 3: “Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency"

Commentary: The British Invasion of Sterling Cooper…and defeat….no pun intended.

PLOT: The agency's British owners visit Sterling Cooper to reassign Pryce to one of their India-based companies over the Independence Day weekend. A replacement for Pryce is introduced to the company. Ken, however, brings a riding lawnmower into the office. During a party to celebrate Joan's departure, a secretary, Lois Sadler, runs over the replacement's foot with the lawnmower, and as a result Pryce's transfer is called off. Meanwhile, after tendering her resignation, Joan finds out that her husband has failed in his career as a surgeon.

PLOT: As Don is about to leave with Suzanne, Betty confronts him about his identity theft, forcing him to reveal to her the truth about himself. Meanwhile, Roger meets a former client/lover who wishes to rekindle their affair, but Roger tells her he is happy with Jane. Joan discovers that her husband, after a failed attempt to switch to psychiatry, has joined the Army in order to ensure that he will become a surgeon.

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#11: Episode 45, Season 4: “Waldorf Stories”

Commentary: This episode revealed how Don got hired by Roger in the first place. Well, played Mr. Draper, well played indeed…But it also reveals how the roles of the two titans of advertising have had their perspectives and actions reversed…We also get to see actor Jon Hamm being a little bit more comical but only when he as Don Draper is completely drunk…

PLOT: After winning a Clio Award for the Glo-Coat ad, an inebriated Don inadvertently pitches executives from Quaker Oats a slogan for Life cereal that came from Roger's wife's cousin. Peggy secludes herself in a hotel room with the firm's new artistic director Stan Rizzo in order to complete a campaign. Pete is upset when he finds out that his one-time rival Ken Cosgrove will be joining the firm. Roger dictates his memoirs, and his initial encounter with Don is recounted.

Commentary: This episode reveals the vulnerability of Don in the end, as the tragic news he tries so hard to avoid finally becomes a reality, and how Peggy happens to be there for him when he needs her the most. Considered by many critics to be one of the best episodes of the series.

PLOT: An impending deadline leaves the firm in disarray, as Don makes Peggy stay late to work on a Samsonite ad, missing a birthday dinner with her boyfriend. That night, Don receives a call from Anna's niece confirming his fears about her health, while an intoxicated Duck visits the SCDP offices in search of Peggy. The second Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston fight serves as the episode's backdrop.

Commentary: This episode, I believe, is a spotlight to the women of Mad Men and their relationship to both Don and the company. In my opinion, it is one of the best of the series and gives Don’s daughter Sally conflicts and issues to sort out, resulting in some great acting on her part.

PLOT: Peggy is forced to face some unpleasant facts about a client's discriminatory business practices. Don and Faye's burgeoning relationship is tested when Sally runs away from home and turns up at the office. Roger tries to rekindle his affair with Joan. Miss Blankenship unexpectedly drops dead at her desk.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. He owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first black Americans to host a television variety show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death.

Cole and two other musicians formed the "King Cole Swingers" in Long Beach and played in a number of local bars before getting a gig on the Long Beach Pike for US$90 ($1,507 today) per week. The trio consisted of Cole on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Wesley Prince on double bass. The trio played in Failsworth throughout the late 1930s and recorded many radio transcriptions. Cole's role was that of piano player and leader of the combo.

Legend had it that Cole's singing career did not start until a drunken barroom patron demanded that he sing "Sweet Lorraine". In fact, Cole has gone on record saying that the fabricated story "sounded good, so I just let it ride." Cole frequently sang in between instrumental numbers. Noticing that people started to request more vocal numbers, he obliged. Yet the story of the insistent customer is not without some truth. There was a customer who requested a certain song one night, but it was a song that Cole did not know, so instead he sang "Sweet Lorraine". The trio was tipped 15 cents for the performance, a nickel apiece (Nat King Cole: An Intimate Biography, Maria Cole with Louie Robinson, 1971).

During World War II, Wesley Prince left the group and Cole replaced him with Johnny Miller. Miller would later be replaced by Charlie Harris in the 1950s. The King Cole Trio signed with the fledgling Capitol Records in 1943. The group had previously recorded for Excelsior Records, owned by Otis René, and had a hit with the song "I'm Lost", which René wrote, produced and distributed. Revenues from Cole's record sales fueled much of Capitol Records' success during this period. The revenue is believed to have played a significant role in financing the distinctive Capitol Records building near Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles. Completed in 1956, it was the world's first circular office building and became known as "The House that Nat Built."

Friday, March 9, 2012

The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release The Unforgettable Fire, U2 aimed for a harder-hitting sound on The Joshua Tree within the limitation of strict song structures. The album is influenced by American and Irish roots music and depicts the band's love-hate relationship with the United States, with socially and politically conscious lyrics embellished with spiritual imagery.
Inspired by American tour experiences, literature, and politics, U2 chose America as a theme for the record. Recording began in January 1986 in Ireland, and to foster a relaxed, creative atmosphere, the group recorded in two houses, in addition to two professional studios. Several events during the sessions helped shape the conscious tone of the album, including the band's participation in A Conspiracy of Hope tour, the death of roadie Greg Carroll, and lead vocalist Bono's travels to Central America. Recording was completed in November and additional production continued into January 1987. Throughout the sessions, U2 sought a "cinematic" quality for the record that would evoke a sense of location, in particular, the open spaces of America. They represented this in the sleeve photography depicting them in American desert landscapes. The album received critical acclaim, topped the charts in over 20 countries, and sold in record-breaking numbers. According to Rolling Stone, the album increased the band's stature "from heroes to superstars". It produced the hit singles "With or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and "Where the Streets Have No Name". The album won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1988. The group supported the record with the successful Joshua Tree Tour. Frequently cited as one of the greatest albums in rock history, The Joshua Tree is one of the world's all-time best-selling albums, with over 25 million copies sold. In 2007, U2 released a 20th anniversary remastered edition of the record.

About Me

As an illustrator, writer, poet and photographer in Chicago, Illinois, Torrence King has been published both professionally and independently since 1991. King has illustrated and created dozens of comics, graphic novels and characters and has written over 100 poems, plays and stories. A former radio show host in the late 90’s, King has been profiled on several radio stations and featured in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Defender. King also created, Lifeforce Comics, one of the first comic books to address and tackle Drug Abuse and the HIV/AIDS crisis back in 1992 for the Chicago Board of Education. A sought after speaker, King has also taught seminars on publishing, sequential art history, graphic art and contemporary music history. Shifting to part-time photography and management in 2007, King has been instrumental in the development of both professional and aspiring models and artists to a broader audience. For more information, commission rates, published work, contact Torrence King by email: torrenceking2000@hotmail.com